


Promises Made, Promises Broken

by 14hpgirl19



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Introspection, Light Angst, Siblings, Zuko Decides Aang is his Little Brother, sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 23:24:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18271214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/14hpgirl19/pseuds/14hpgirl19
Summary: Zuko has a sister. Azula is sadistic, broken, and has tried to harm Zuko more times than he can count. He hates that he's failed her.Zuko doesn't have a brother. Aang is childish, overly cheerful, and puts far too much trust in Zuko.Zuko hopes that he doesn't fail him.





	Promises Made, Promises Broken

When Azula was born, Zuko was excited. He hardly understood what it meant to have a baby around, being only two years old, but he knew big changes were coming. He believed they would be good changes.  

“You’ll be her biggest protector,” Ursa whispered to him one night. She cradled baby Azula to her chest, and Zuko snuggled up beside her, gazing down at the tiny bundle.

He didn’t have the words to say it then, but years later he made a promise to himself.

_I won’t let anyone hurt her._

<><><> 

Zuko’s first impression of Aang is he will be almost embarrassingly easy to take out.

His second impression is that Aang is very powerful and not to be underestimated.

His third impression comes much later, and it shakes him to his core when it does.

_He’s just a kid._

<><><> 

Azula very quickly became their father’s favorite child. Zuko tried to tell himself it didn’t hurt him, that he wasn’t bothered by this.

(Zuko lied to himself almost as much as Azula lied to other people.)

Despite this, he continued to take his role as her big brother very seriously. He played with her, he told her stories, and he held her whenever their father’s temper got too intense.

“Zuzu!” she called. When she was learning to speak, she couldn’t get his full name out and instead gave him a nickname. He would never tell anyone, but he enjoyed hearing it. “Watch this!”

Azula planted her feet firmly on the ground and squared her shoulders. She took a deep breath, then jabbed her fist out. A burst of flame (far bigger and brighter than Zuko’s own flames) shot forth. He smiled as Azula relaxed her stance.

“You’re a natural,” said Zuko.

She beamed up at him. “I know.”

<><><> 

When Zuko comes to on the forest floor, Blue Spirit mask gone, he cannot remember how he got there. There’s a dull pain in his shoulder, and a soft voice speaking off to his right.

“Do you think we could have been friends?” Aang asks.

An answer springs up in Zuko’s mind. He smothers it by launching fire at Aang.

The ache in his chest remains even as he tries to fall asleep back on the ship.

<><><> 

The Fire Prince and Princess grew up alongside each other. The Princess’ firebending advanced far quicker than the Prince’s.

The Prince clung to his mother’s skirts and tried to convince himself he’d get better. The Princess basked in her father’s praise and ignored the growing splinters in her mind.  

<><><> 

Aang saves Zuko at the North Pole. Zuko saves Aang’s beloved bison in Ba Sing Se. Aang’s friend offers Zuko a chance at redemption.

He squanders it, of course. He has a knack for doing the things that are the worst for himself.

He watches his sister shoot the Avatar out of the sky with lightning.

He tells himself it is for the best. That it doesn’t matter that Aang is younger than Azula, and that Zuko could have helped him.

(He’s lying to himself.)

<><><> 

Something dangerous grew in Azula’s eyes. Zuko saw it. Tried to ignore it for the longest time. Did his best as a big brother to keep his sister good and innocent.

He read her a story one night, straight out of their mother’s old storybook. Ursa had disappeared over two months ago, and Zuko’s heart fractured more and more every day.

“Mother hated me,” Azula said matter-of-factly. Zuko closed the book and held it to his chest.

“No, she doesn’t,” he replied. He couldn’t bring himself to use the past tense. “She loves you. You’re her daughter.”

“That means nothing,” Azula said. The lack of emotion in her voice chilled Zuko to the bone. He pulled her close to his side, as if his warmth could restore something within Azula.

Zuko couldn’t comprehend that until his father burnt his face and sent him away on a ship. Even then, it took him years to understand. He wished he could have prevented his sister from understanding it too.

<><><> 

Aang’s initial wariness over Zuko’s presence at the Western Air Temple fades far quicker than it should. Every morning, he greets Zuko with a bright smile and a “Morning, Sifu Hotman!”

Zuko grumbles about it, but he can’t stop the warmth in his chest that flares up every time.

When Aang struggles with his firebending, Zuko nearly yells at him. The words are on the tip of his tongue, the embers are sending up sparks beneath his skin.

But then he hears someone else’s voice shouting, echoing in his mind, and he douses the fire.

“Remember,” Zuko says. “Fire is life. It’s harder to master, because you create it yourself, but as long as you can breathe, you can pull it forth.”

Aang’s shoulders are slumped, though he at least lifts his head to look at Zuko.  

“Easy for you to say,” says Aang. “You’ve been a master for ages.”

Zuko’s surprised at how easy it is to say, “That’s not true. I wasn’t very good at firebending at the beginning.”

Aang is clearly curious to know more, but unwilling to press. Perhaps that’s why Zuko sits down with Aang and shares stories about his early training.

Aang’s bending improves not long after that.  

<><><> 

Azula didn’t try to see him off after the fateful Agni Kai. She made no attempt to contact him. He didn’t see her for three years, and in that time, he knew their father’s hold on her only grew.

When he saw her next, at that Earth Kingdom resort, he hardly recognized her. Where there was once adoration between them, there was now resentment. Where there was playfulness, there was now deadly competition.

It only took one look at her for him to realize he broke the promise he once made.

<><><> 

After a particularly difficult day of firebending, Zuko can see that Aang is dejected. It strikes him again, just how young the Avatar is, and how unfair it is that he has to do this.

“Come on,” Zuko says, startling Aang. “Let’s go for a swim.”

“Huh?” They’re at the Fire Lord’s beach house. The others are scattered elsewhere. Zuko had told them to get lost so Aang could focus.

“You heard me. Don’t make me change my mind.”

Aang takes off in a burst of air, and Zuko has to suppress his smile. By the time he makes it to the shoreline, Aang is already splashing around in the water.

“Zuko!” Aang calls. “Watch this!” He demonstrates a new waterbending move he learned from Katara three days before. His mastery of it is impressive, and Zuko doesn’t understand why he feels so proud.

“You’re a natural,” he says, his voice soft.

<><><> 

He felt bad leaving his sister behind. He really did. Despite everything that had changed between them, despite her willingness to harm him or worse, he still cared about her. He knew that her cruelty wasn’t her fault.

But the term “brother” didn’t seem important to her anymore. Now, it was synonymous with “traitor.”

When his uncle suggested the Agni Kai, he knew there was a very real chance he would have to kill her. The thought didn’t sit well with him, but in the end, he came to the same conclusion as everyone else.

Azula had to be stopped, and he was the only one who could do it.

<><><> 

“ _Again.”_

Aang groans and flops down on the ground. The Comet is days away. They’re running out of time.

“You’ve already made me do it twenty times,” Aang complains. “I need a break!”

“Breaks won’t help you get better.”

Aang sits up, glaring at him. “Why are you being so harsh?”

_Because I need to protect you._

Zuko gives him a matching glare. “Because the fate of the world depends on your ability to master firebending. Now, _again._ ”

<><><> 

The war ends. Ozai is imprisoned. A new Fire Lord is crowned.

Azula is locked up, her fragile mind having finally snapped. Zuko visits her and often leaves with an ache in his heart.

Aang is celebrated around the world as the savior who restored balance. There are thousands who clamor for his attention, and there is still much work for him to complete.

But he still has time for the people who helped him, who saved him. When Zuko is officially crowned, Aang is right there beside Sokka and Katara, and he is the first person to hug Zuko when the festivities begin.

One promise was broken. Another was kept. For now, that has to be enough.  


End file.
